Yup. I’m officially insane. I think I’ve slept all of 4 hrs a day each day for the last three wks I’ve been home with a newborn. Those 4 hours are NOT consecutive, by the way. 😛

I just had to! I spent so much time online trying to find one to buy or more to download, but nothing seemed to fit ME! I wanted a daily to-do list with some built-in items, like my Morning and Night Routines, so that I wouldnt have to write the same things down each day.

Black and white instead of color so that you can make multiple copies without wasting too much ink.

Date on top and checkable day of the week.

Proverbs 3:5-6 to remind you who’s REALLY in charge of your day.

Two columns for Morning and Night Routines.

Another verse I’m personally meditating on (Phil 4:6-7) so that I wont be anxious about getting everything done.

To-Do List

ONE Project for the day. (Anything more is unrealistic.)

Miscellaneous Notes.

Half the size of notebook paper so that it’s portable and easier to handle.

This daily planner makes me happy. If you want to use the template and create your own from it, just download it using the link under the image. And be sure to comment and let me know if you have and how it’s working out for you!

And I had said that I wanted to really love it so that I could avoid having to make my own planner. Well, it came today and I’ve reviewed it, and I have to say….

I dont love it. 😦

So sad. But, I really dont. I’m not saying it isnt cute, or even useful. It totally is! It’s just not what I wanted. Maybe I’m too picky? Here are some sample pages:

1. Generic calendar stickers

2. Calendar pages

3. List pages

4. Task List

It also has pockets in the inside covers and it’s a nice purse-sized planner so you can take it with you. My thing is that I really had hoped to have the calendar pages and task lists fused together. Not to mention that the Task List is really generic. I’ve been using Simple Mom’s Pocket Docket temporarily until this planner came. It’s much more specific. I like it better. I just didnt want to have to print multiple copies of it all yr! T__T I may go shopping for a new planner, or just create my own. (Yes, I love creating more work for myself! :P)

Anyway, I dont think I’ll be using this planner, but I know that there is someone out there who can use it and cherish it just as it is! so I’m willing to GIVE IT AWAY! Anyone who comments between now and Friday, the 13th will be randomly selected to become the new owner of this Mom Planner!

Been neglecting this blog to work on a new one. That one is much more specific as it’s about me schooling my girls at home, so if you want the link, just hit me up. I’m trying to remain anonymous on that one, though, so if you hop on over, just dont address me or the girls by name, kplzthnx! 😀

I think that between the FlyLady, reading all the homeschooling mom blogs and reading organizing junkie blogs, things are finally beginning to sink in. I decided I have to stop thinking and talking about what I want to do and JUST DO IT. (Wow, what a concept. :P)

To that end, I put together my list of 2012 resolutions, and I started using a daily To-Do List to dump my brain and check off what I’m actually accomplishing.

The Daily Docket (pic is linked) is great,

but I’ve been using The Pocket Docket:

Either one works if you’re a list person. But, then I realized that even with my lovely Home Management Binder (still a work-in-progress), I’d have to keep printing multiple copies of these dockets and shoving them into my binder only to throw them away by the end of the yr.

I didnt want to do that.

So, I decided to bite the bullet and buy a planner! =O I just havent done that in yrs. Not since I was in college and definitely not after discovering Google Calendar! 😛 But, even though I put all of my appointments on Google Calendar, I dont use the Task function for my To-Do’s. Plus, I dont want to have to always access my phone or computer for the next item on the list. So I put my foot down (against myself) and decided to purchase this:

I’m hoping it’ll be worth it. Even if for just the daily to-do lists and the stickers. 😛 But, honestly, I hope I love it because then I’ll get one every yr and not have to print off list after list or even use notepad after notepad, post-it after post-it (though post-its work wonderfully for my husband and I’m not knocking them!), you get the idea. And I can use my Home Management Notebook for other things, like menu planning. I’m going to get very serious about that this yr. If for no other reason than to practice for the day when we wont be living with my inlaws (really crossing my fingers here), and I cant rely on my MIL for dinner every night. Anyways, I should be taking care of breakfast and lunch, so I’ll start there. I want to provide my husband a nutritious meal to take with him to work. Actually, a few meals. He doesnt eat breakfast at home, and he works 12 hr shifts most days, so he really needs breakfast, lunch and a satiating snack. Once I get that down, I can focus on dinners and eventually meals with both my kids. To that end, aside from the numerous cookbooks and foodie sites I peruse, I went with the FlyLady’s recommendation and bought this:

I had had a sample on my Nook, but again decided to bite the bullet and just BUY IT! I need to start somewhere and it might as well be there. Luckily I have a wonderful Mother’s Helper with me these first few months with Baby Ruth here and she is a great cook who can help me learn some good Chines cooking as well as assist me in trying Western Recipes. (Thanks, T!) I am trying to take advantage of this time to learn to cook, and also to eat better and stay healthy as I breastfeed and attempt to get down to a healthier weight. My husband needs to get healthier, too. And we need to save money so I’d rather we stop buying when I can make stuff. Cant wait to bake bread! 😀

Ok, on to my goals for this yr. Here’s my list:

1. SPIRITUAL GOALS:

a) Word – Finish last yr’s BSF study on Isaiah by March and finish the Acts/Epistles study from several yrs ago (get notes from friends)

b) Worship – Minimum 10mins/day

c) Prayer – Minimum 10mins/day (May start keeping a journal again – I have a moleskin.)

2. FAMILY GOALS:

a) Homeschool Jelly Bean starting in March (17mths old) and keep new blog on it

Baby #: 2Gender:GirlHow far along at birth? 40 weeks / 6 daysTotal weight gain? 24 lbsMaternity clothes?Motherhood Maternity / A Pea in the PodStretch marks? Same as last timeSleep: Lots of heartburn (started earlier this time), and very painful soreness in the left hip and lower back / There’s a bone that keeps cracking in my left hip whenever I turn from my right side. Because of sleeping with Jelly Bean, I’m often on my right side. When I try to get up, I have to step gingerly for a few moments because my left side is so sore.Best moments: Singing praise songs with Jelly Bean and knowing Baby Ruth is listening to me and her jie-jie!First Movement: 14 wksFood cravings: Anti-craving – no Chinese food for dinner!Sickness: Afternoon/night for the first trimester only, yay!Labor signs: At 38wks 3 days, the doc says I’m 50% effaced. The night before I’d had tremendous pressure down below where the baby’s head is. So much that it was hard to stand or walk. He says that’s because the baby has descended to the point where he feels her head through the uterus!Belly button in or out? In, but more out than last time, I think.Wedding rings on or off? On, even though I had taken them off during summer as a precaution.Mood swings? None, but my husband says he gets some! 😛Preparation: Decluttering the house and setting up for Christmas. We have our first tree! 🙂Baby Shower: None. (My mom had planned on one, but it was getting close to the due date and I told her not to. Besides, we dont need anything, and people still insist on buying tons of baby clothes! >_<)Delivery method:VBAC! 😀Delivery Doctor: Dr. Richard Rindfuss
Breast or Bottle? Both for now. She was born a bit jaundiced, so we were told to supplement with bottle until my milk fully comes in. However, she’s having digestive issues even with the Soy milk we put her on in the hospital. We switched her to Alimentum. I’m hoping to get the hang of this breastfeeding thing soon, (problems latching on), so that she can be off the bottle completely in a few days.Baby stats: Born 12/22/11 / Wt: 9lbs, 2oz! / Length: 20.75in.

I cant believe I’m still pregnant! I’m 40 wks and 3 days. But at least I’m progressing. I’ve been feeling slight contractions here and there, but nothing steady. If I dont go into full labor by tomorrow nite, I will be induced on Wed. However, this shouldnt lead to another csection since my body is in ‘labor-mode.’

In the meantime, I started a new blog to keep track of my homeschooling journey with my girls starting in March. I probably will lessen some of the posting here, but that’s no big loss! 😛 And I wont be using my real name or my kids’ real names on the other blog, just because I have a feeling more people will be reading it. I wont link back to here either.

Waiting in anxious anticipation for labor is somewhat maddening. I’m due in FIVE days. If I dont go into labor soon, I imagine another c-section is in my future. That’s something I dont want to think about. So, I’m walking, drinking water, and the hubby and I are trying a tried and true old-fashioned method of naturally inducing my labor. As of last Monday, I was 50% effaced, which is great. Farther than I was able to get last time. I’m hoping by now – about a wk later – that I will be almost 100% effaced and starting to dilate. I still havent lost my mucus plug, though, and my water bag is still intact. It’s making me feel impatient. I really really want to have a successful VBAC this time.

Otherwise, I’m satisfied with Christmas prep this yr. Last yr, I was very sleep-deprived due to having a newborn at the end of Sept, and by the time Christmas came, we hadnt settled enough at my in-laws to have space for much. I did manage to do a few simple decorations, which I had to contend with even though not having a tree was disappointing. This yr, I begged my husband (who did not grow up celebrating Christmas much) to get a tree – even a small one. Four and a half feet is half the size of the tree I’m used to growing up with, but it’ll do. And the best part is that my 1-yr-old now says “tree!” much better since having one in the house!

I saw this on Vale Design and thought I should have done it for my last pregnancy. I modified it a bit. I’ll fill in 2 – one for each of my girls – since I’m at the end of this pregnancy anyway. But first, Baby #1:

Pregnancy 2010 – “Jelly Bean”

Baby #: 1Gender:GirlHow far along at birth? 39 weeks, 5 daysTotal weight gain? 28 lbsMaternity clothes?Motherhood Maternity / A Pea in the PodStretch marks? Yes! 😦Sleep: Lots of heartburn and very painful soreness in the hips and upper thighsBest moments: Feeling my baby kicking, except when she kicked my right rib!First Movement: 17 wksFood cravings: Dumplings in the first month when I didnt even realize I was pregnant. After that – no more dumplings, ever! >_<Sickness: Afternoon/night for the first 6 mths. T__TLabor signs: Braxton Hicks in the 9th month. But no real labor since I was induced.Belly button in or out? InWedding rings on or off? Off since the 6th/7th month (summertime)Mood swings? NonePreparation: Mary Esther’s BRADLEY Method childbirth course.Baby Shower: FOUR! 1. 318 (Mom’s job), 2. CCNY (Dad’s job), 3. Family, 4. CLLOB: First 5mths with Dr Doris Tan / Switched to Bklyn Birthing Ctr until 8th month when they dropped me as high-risk due to gestational diabetes / 34 wks – end with Dr Mark V.
Delivery method: C-section (unplanned due to failed induction)Delivery Doctor: Dr. Irina Mikheyeva / Partner: Dr. Bubucea
Post-partum emotion: 14 days of daily blues because I didnt get the natural birth experience I’d planned for and wanted.Breast or Bottle? Bottle (also not planned). However, Jubi turned out to have digestion issues with the Similac Advanced and started pooping blood! T__T We switched her to Similac Alimentum at 3wks and kept her on it til 7mths when we transitioned her to Similac Soy. At 14mths, we are transitioning her to organic low-fat regular milk.Baby stats: Born 11:20pm / Wt: 8.2lbs / Length: 20.75in.

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